12/3/12 3:31 PM EST

Wal-Mart says it is cutting off communications with The Huffington Post -- again* -- after the website reported that the retail chain plans to halt health insurance benefits for newly hired part-time workers.

In an email to POLITICO, Wal-Mart spokesperson Randy Hargrove said HuffPo's story was "riddled with inaccuracies" and "reinforces our company’s decision to no longer participate in the Huffington Post’s one-sided rhetoric."

The article, by Alice Hines, reports that Wal-Mart "plans to begin denying health insurance to newly hired employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, according to a copy of the company’s policy obtained by The Huffington Post."

"Under the policy, slated to take effect in January, Walmart also reserves the right to eliminate health care coverage for certain workers if their average workweek dips below 30 hours -- something that happens with regularity and at the direction of company managers," Hines reports.

But Hargrove tells POLITICO "the premise of the article can be negated with two simple facts."

"One, This is not a 'new plan,'" Hargrove writes. "A simple Google search would have revealed the plan you refer to that requires 'part-time' associates work 30 hours per week has been in place for nearly a year and has been covered by multiple news organizations."

"Two, Since the policy has been in place, a higher percentage of associates signed on for our health care benefits for 2013," Hargrove continues. "Why? Because our health care plans are affordable."

"One point that was accurately reported is our lowest associate-only plan is $34.80 a month," he writes. "What’s missing is that plan is half the average premium that other retailer employees pay, comes with an up-front $250 contribution to help pay for medical expenses and is the same plan available at our corporate office and to our store associates. I could go on, and while we take issue with the lack of facts in the story, we were not surprised."

Rhoades Alderson, director of communications at Huffington Post Media Group, could not immediately be reached for comment.

UPDATE (4:54 p.m.): Alderson emails:

We stand behind our story. The policy we write about in our story takes effect January 1, 2013, according to the first page of the Walmart benefits book we obtained. The benefits book for the previous year has different standards, as we explain in our story.